The difference in the Buckeyes now and the Buckeyes vs. UCLA in March? Starting pitching, and the opportunity for its development (Gavin Kuzniewski, above). (Press Pros Feature Photos)
A busy mailbox following the Buckeyes’ sweep of Michigan has teed up the perfect pre-Big Ten Tournament column for Monday…on the Buckeyes’ season, their chances in the tournament, and college baseball, itself.
Thanks to many of you who responded to our coverage of the Ohio State-Michigan series in Ann Arbor over the weekend, and for those who took the time to send some very thoughtful comments about the Buckeyes’ season, their chances in this week’s tournament, and about Big Ten baseball and college baseball, in general.
Out of the dozen or so received you’ve made my choice for a Monday column much easier than it would have been write about, well…uh…you just made my Monday easier.
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best in area sports stories on Press Pros Magazine.com.
First, a question from central Ohio from an everyday reader who both aired us out for not writing as much as in past years, and for us to comment again on those February articles, that in hindsight, worked out pretty much as written.
“Was this team lucky, or were you lucky over what you wrote about the talent brought in after last year’s disaster? Frankly, I didn’t see this coming.”
My answer: Yes, and yes. The schedule smiled on the Buckeyes as they played six Big Ten opponents this year with losing records against the conference, winning four of the six series – Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan State, and Penn State. They lost series to Washington and Rutgers, both of which will be in the Big Ten Tournament, along with Michigan State.
Were they lucky to win? No. They were good enough to beat teams that they should have beaten, but they were fortunate that they only had to play UCLA, Nebraska, Purdue and Michigan out of the top third of the conference. Impressively, they swept both Nebraska and Michigan which proves that on a down year for Big Ten baseball, overall, they held their own against the league best.
And what I wrote about in February came eerily close to being the winning line to their season. Pitching, especially the starters, came through over the second half of the season, and some good and dependable bullpen arms emerged because they weren’t already beat to death by the time tax day (April 15) rolled around. You cannot say enough about the back end, and players like Jake Michalak, Lincoln McVicker, Ryan Zamora, Luke Carrell, and Nick Sawyer.
To your point about new faces that delivered…no one could have predicted that Dane Harvey would have impacted the batting order in the manner of 19 home runs, a .339 average, and 56 RBIs.
To your point about new faces that delivered, I point to Alex Bemis, Dane Harvey, Noah Furcht, Miles Vandenheuvel, and Grant Mangrum. And you’d better not leave out Henry Kaczmar, Mason Eckelman, Maddix Simpson, and Lee Ellis, either. The home-growns turned out to be every bit as good as we thought when they were recruited by the previous regimes.
“Are the Buckeyes good enough to win the Big Ten Tournament, and how do you think they’d match up with UCLA a second time around?”
My answer: A lot depends on their starting pitching, plain and simple. Because I still believe this batting order is good enough to score runs against anyone. For example, they scored enough runs in two of the three losses to UCLA in March to have won, but the starting pitching got blown out, and I don’t see that happening again, thirty games later.
Knapke Kitchens and Baths proudly sponsors Ohio State sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
To answer your question, you saw what they did against Nebraska and Michigan with that same pitching, and that same lineup. And more importantly, they saw, too. This is a far different baseball club than it was in March.
But to caution, every one of the teams in the tournament is a different team than they were when they started, assuming they all improved. But I think we know now that some were better to start with, and Ohio State is one of those teams.
“Appreciate your coverage of the Buckeyes, but wonder whether their turnaround says more about Ohio State, or college baseball, in general, given how easy it is to transfer to a better situation than creating a situation of your own at your current school?”
My answer: No one can deny that this Ohio State team is better than 2025, in large part because of the transfer portal. But it also says a mouthful about developmental baseball, which has always been the bread and butter of the college game. And that said, I believe that Alex Bemis, Noah Furcht, and Dane Harvey have benefited from Junior College experience that gave them an opportunity to play against better competition for two years that they might not have had as incoming freshmen. Kids don’t want to wait two years anymore and work to be ready when they name is called, like in the past.
Lincoln McVicker is one of the new bullpen arms that Justin Haire showed faith in during the course of the Big Ten season.
That said, at least two league coaches shared with me this spring that kids aren’t playing enough baseball to develop from the start. “Travel baseball is not developmental baseball,” said one. “They’re playing games, but they’re not practicing to improve the skills necessary to play when it’s their time.”
Another added, “We have kids playing now to make money instead of the developmental experience that used to come with college baseball. They follow the money.”
That’s a huge indictment of college athletics, in general, but there’s very little question that it’s true.
But in Ohio State’s case, you do get the sense that this is a very tight group who enjoys playing for each other, enjoys the time-honored phrase about being a Buckeye, and weekends like Nebraska and Michigan bear that out. I believe that this is why you have Henry Kaczmar, Mason Eckelman, Maddix Simpson, and Lee Ellis as productive cornerstones in the lineup, and I think it sets the better teams apart from some of the other turbulence in the league.
Precision Strip proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.
“Are you excited about the Big Ten Tournament, and do you see a Cinderella team rising from any of the bottom seeds?”
Can the Buckeyes win the Big Ten Tournament? No one believed they would in 2016 when Ronnie Dawson homered against Michigan State and they fought their way out of the loser’s bracket to win it.
My answer: I was more excited when the tournament only had eight teams, instead of twelve. But I also liked baseball better before there were two first bases, when you could knock batters off home plate without being warned, and when runners attempting to score could Pete Rose the catcher at home plate. In short, I like competition, I like hard, tough baseball, and I enjoy seeing kids grow under those circumstances. As an old pitcher, I don’t like seeing hitters with their toes six inches from home plate. Nuh-uh!
What you didn’t ask was…are other media outlets excited about the Buckeyes and the Big Ten Tournament? None of the ones I see for football and basketball were in Ann Arbor, and I think that’s a commentary on the priority of college baseball.
And a Cinderella team? No. If they were good enough to avoid the loser’s bracket they would being one of the top six seeds, and they would have shown the developmental progress that Ohio State did they were 1-5 in the conference against UCLA and Washington. From that point on they became what they became, going 17-7 over their final 24 conference games.
Wilson Health/Orthopedics proudly sponsors the best in area sports and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Press Pros.